


Vampire's Kiss

by flitterflutterfly



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Courtship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-04
Updated: 2012-10-04
Packaged: 2017-11-15 15:39:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/528858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flitterflutterfly/pseuds/flitterflutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xander is content with his life as a cop of the DSPA, the Demons and Supernatural Protection Agency, protecting the streets of LA at night and sleeping in at the flat he shared with his best friend Willow at day.  All of that changes when he begins to receive pointed gifts from a secret admirer in what may or may not be a courtship ritual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vampire's Kiss

It certainly wasn’t the first time he’d felt this –this prickling sensation at the base of his hairline, the skin of his neck crawling as he walked along lamp-lit streets at the end of his night shift. Not that the sensation had always been there, no, it was a relatively recent acquisition.

_If Willow knew that I used words like ‘acquisition’ even if just in my thoughts…_

Xander snorted and shook his head. He tugged his jacket closer, the badge on his arm casting a brief metallic glare along the wall besides him. A silver sword and stake crossed together, the symbol for the supernatural division of the usual coppers and enforcers of any city.

His father had scoffed at him when he’d told the man that he was applying to the academy. The man hadn’t even gone to his graduation, but Xander was beyond the point of caring what his family thought of him. He had earned a place in one of the most successful demonic protection squads in LA and he had enough confidence to be proud of himself.

The prickling worsened suddenly. Xander spared a brief thought to the possibility that he was gaining supernormal detection skills, like his friend and leader of their squad, the chosen Slayer Buffy. But no, he reminded himself, he would have manifested far before his twenty-fifth year if that were the case. And besides, if he did manifest, he would be taken away from his squad for more training and then reassignment to a group still without a Slayer and he certainly didn’t want that.

Xander moved his hand slightly over the small broadsword at his hip, another obvious sign that spoke to any passerby that he was a member of the DSPA, the Demons and Supernatural Protection Agency. He only had another block to his apartment left, but judging by the growing shadows on his right, Xander didn’t have that kind of time.

Taking a calming breath and hoping that he hadn’t just given himself away by doing so, Xander took a step forward, only to pivot back and unsheathe his sword at the same time, bringing it in an arc around his chest.

His blade was stopped the minute he had it in front of him, the sudden stilling a warning as Xander’s eyes went to make out whomever had moved fast enough to abort his defense. He hadn’t been so caught off guard since he’d first become a cop, but now was not the time to let himself ponder anything.

Just as Xander was about to let go of his sword and reach for his backup knife, or at least his radio to call for assistance, he felt his sword come free of its hold. The shadows grew and then morphed into a humanoid shape as the figure who’d been following him stepped backwards into the light of the streetlamp. Xander felt his eyebrows go up and his mouth drop slightly.

“Master Spike,” he said in a tone even he himself couldn’t place.

The vampire smiled easily, a glint of fangs shining behind pale lips before they disappeared into a human face. “Hullo, pet. Nice night for a walk, ain’t it?”

Xander slowly, deliberately, re-sheathed his blade. It wasn’t like it would help him against the vampire once known as William the Bloody, one fourth of the Scourge of Europe. The cop considered grabbing the stake he kept on the inside of his jacket, but he reminded himself that his supervisors would be rather cross if he made any threatening moves towards the vampire that had taken over the dark courts of Los Angelos.

After all, Xander’s current home was one of the few cities in the world that could claim a truce with the current unofficial leader of their demonic population. Not that said truce made Xander’s job any less necessary. Even with a vampire as notably strict as Spike, the blood-thirsty baddies with no regard for the demonic hierarchy and rules still slipped through any number of cracks.

Then again, LA was a big city and Xander told himself not to blame the master for the creatures he couldn’t keep under watch, when the mere fact that he kept  _some_  had saved several thousands of lives, according to the polls, over the past five years since Spike had set up a proper court.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Xander asked after the silence had begun to stretch.

It was possibly his imagination, but it seemed like Spike’s smile had just widened. “There are many things I would have you help me with, pet.”

Xander frowned, wondering what the master vampire was referring to. They’d never interacted before, though by all account Spike had moved to LA around the same time Xander and his best friend Willow had from their hometown of Sunnydale. “Is there a problem in your court? I mean, I could talk to my supervisors about getting a squad sent over to-”

Spike’s smile had dropped and his eyes flashed gold. “My court is not a concern of your precious agency, Alexander Harris.”

Xander nearly took a step back, but he resisted just in time. It was never could to retreat in front of a vampire, it showed a kind of weakness he couldn’t afford until he knew just what Spike wanted. “How do you know my name?”

“Patience,” Spike said smoothly and now the smile was back. Xander frowned, wondering if the vampire meant he’d learned through patience, or that Xander should have patience, or maybe both.

Before he could say anything more, however, a sudden howl pierce the night and both human and vampire turned in the direction it had come from.

“Fuckin’ wolf,” Spike muttered. “It wouldn’t matter if I cut-” he stopped himself quickly with a glance towards Xander that had the cop quite confused. The smile returned. “That’s my cue, pet. Another time, ay?”

With supernatural speed, Spike swooped close to Xander and before the human could think anything more than,  _Oh Gods, he’s gonna bite me!_ , Spike gave him a cold, chaste kiss on the lips.

Then Spike stepped back, his smile softening slightly and the light reflecting off his blue eyes and all Xander found running through his head was  _he’s beautiful_.

And then the vampire winked, turned, and ran into the shadows of the alley. And was gone.

Xander gaped, staring in the direction of Spike’s retreat before reaching up to touch his lips with a shaky hand.

_What in the name of all things demonic was that?_

.~.~.~.

The day after his run in with the Master Vampire of Los Angelos saw Xander grudgingly going through paperwork at his cramped desk in the DSPA section of the central police department. His squad’s patrol shift was early evening to around midnight, but that didn’t mean that the office didn’t expect him to work a full day.

Well, sure, Xander didn’t have to come to work until around eleven or so… but he figured that since no one liked paperwork he could complain all he liked. Still, despite all moaning and groaning, Xander figured he had one of the best jobs in the city, despite the heightened mortality rate that went with it.

But hey, he’d grown up on a Hellmouth. Compared to that, his move to the City of Angels had given him at least another ten years on his life expectancy.

“Hey Xan!” his best friend, current apartment roommate, and practical sister poked her red head around his desk.

“Wills,” Xander greeted. “You here for a lunch call?”

“You interested?” Willow asked.

Xander’s stomach chose that moment to gurgle loud enough for them both to hear. Willow laughed, “I’ll take that as a yes. I swear, Xander, it’s like you have it trained.”

Xander wiggled his eyebrows, grinning, and stood. “Buff joining us?”

Willow shook her head negatively as they made their way together towards the elevators. “She’s in training.”

“Ah,” Xander winced. Just more proof that he didn’t want to develop his other friend’s Slayer abilities. He was in no way interested in everything that came with that package. The DSPA often trained their Slayers hard and while Giles wasn’t the strictest of supervisors, he certainly wasn’t lax either.

“We’ll make it up to her later,” Willow promised as the elevator dinged and opened its doors to drop them off at the ground floor.

Xander nodded in agreement. “So where do you want to go today? Sandy’s, Helltown, TGI Friday’s…”

Willow giggled. “I’m in the mood for a salad. That new Greek place just opened, didn’t it?”

“The one with the Tigilith owner?” Xander groaned.

“Come now, the guy spent fifty years in Greece,” Willow said.

“Exactly,” Xander argued, “Greece three centuries ago.”

Willow opened her mouth to counter, but just then Lorne over at the front desk called them over.

“Hey bud, what’s up?” Xander asked as he approached the green demon.

Lorne had once been the owner and host at the popular karaoke bar Caritas, but then the DSPA had to close down his place due to minor illegal infringement. They’d cut the Pylean a deal, in return for them helping train him on his ability to read auras and having him work the front desk of the department, they would lay off his charges. The demon had agreed and now, even though his sentence had ended, he continued to work for them, checking every newcomer for their intent before sending them up the elevators.

“Got a package for you,” Lorne said, holding it out. “No note and we checked for spells and the like. It shouldn’t kill you.”

Xander wrinkled his nose at the curious eyes as he took the proffered box. It was surprisingly light for its size and he wondered curiously if someone had forgotten that his birthday had been last week.

“Come on, open it,” Willow said after he’d spent a minute or so pondering the strange gift. “Don’t leave us hanging.”

Xander glanced at his best friend, then at Lorne. If he opened it here, the receptionist would have the news spread all over the agency by the time he got back from lunch. Then again, that would happen even if he didn’t open it and then people would be making up wild guesses as to its content and that was never good. Besides, Willow was giving him her best puppy eyes. No one could resist Willow’s puppy eyes.

Sighing, Xander hoped that he wasn’t about to reveal something embarrassing as he took a pair of scissors from Lorne and cut away the taping. He opened the cardboard flaps after a moment and peered inside.

His mouth dropped open.

“What?” Willow asked immediately. “What is it?”

Xander reached inside and pulled out the innocent looking video game. “I’ve been wanting this for months!”

“ _Deadly Dealings_?” Willow, too, gaped. “But that doesn’t come out for another five days!”

“Looks like someone has a secret admirer,” Lorne said gleefully. “Is there a note?”

Xander checked again. “No note,” he confirmed.

“You are going to let me play this, aren’t you?” Willow made a grab for the game, which Xander snatched out of her reach just in time. “Come on, bestest friend in this whole dimension.”

“You have a better friend in another dimension?” Xander gasped in mock outrage, then he sobered. “But who could have given me this?”

Lorne looked between him and Willow. “Someone rich, I’d bet.”

“Or with connections,” Xander nodded. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, but he brushed it away. Surely it was simply a coincidence.

_Surely._

.~.~.~.

A week after he’d received the game, Xander vowed that if the person who’d given him the gift ever came forward, he would prostate himself before said mysterious giver in profound thanks.

Well, maybe not, considering such a move was as good as a marriage proposal to more than one type of demon and in Xander’s line of work he couldn’t be sure the his video game benefactor was human.

Still, whomever had given it to him was going to forever be in his good books, Xander resolved as he smashed a couple of keys on his controller, whooping in glee as his character pushed Willow’s towards a patch of sunlight.

“Agh!” Willow screeched as her character caught fire and the screen zoomed in to show Xander’s character do a victory spin.

It had only taken them an hour to discover the multiplayer arena mode that went along with the main game campaign and ever since then it had been a race for each of them to level their characters as much as possible in preparation for noonday matches to the death.

 _Deadly Dealings_  was far from the first game out there that dealt with vampires, but it was one of the few where you actually  _played_  a vampire.

The betas and pre-release critics had described the game as original, fascinating, a play of first-person combat and political mystery all wrapped up in beautiful graphics and unique storylines. Xander was just impressed that they’d gotten their facts straight.

Sure, vampires were no secret to the public, but the game producers had neither over nor under-portrayed the vamps abilities.

Though the game had finally come out for the masses, the stores had quickly run out of stock and Xander was the envy of the department for not only already being past the first story arc, but also for the fact that he hadn’t had to wait in hour-long lines to obtain the game.

It could have stopped there, Xander thought. End of story, someone decided to reward Xander for whatever it was they were rewarding him for and Xander would have been grateful every time he popped the disc in.

The thing was, however, that the gifts hadn’t stopped. Three days after he’d gotten the game, another present had arrived. This one was, at first, confusing. After all, he was hardly a girl, he’d thought when he’d first laid eyes upon the blood-red rose. Then, of course, Willow had pointed out the thorns still attached and Xander had felt slightly less emasculated.

There had been spells on this present, but after some paranoid checking, they’d turned out only to be preservation charms and Xander had ended up taking the rose home instead of leaving it where it was on his office desk. If Willow smirked every time she caught sight of it, well at least that was better than his co-workers going out their way to drop by his workspace so they could see if the rumors were true.

 _Yes, thanks_ , Xander thought,  _I don’t actually have a secret lover._

Just, apparently, someone who wanted to be.

The present after the rose had been a gift certificate to one of Xander’s favorite burger joints. A gift certificate for an entire year. That, even beyond the game, had told Xander that whatever this was –it was serious. No one spent so much money on a ‘thank you’ gift and while the game may have been procured through a favor, the burger joint had assured Xander that the card had been paid for in advance.

“Who do you think it is?” Willow asked, leaning back in her chair.

Xander ripped his eyes away from the rose he’d been staring at on the mantle and paused the game. “I don’t know, Wills.”

“I searched through all the books I could,” Willow said after a moment of silence. “Giles said it might be a courtship ritual, but I couldn’t find anything that matched.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Xander told her. “Whoever is-”

“Whomever,” Willow interrupted.

Xander rolled his eyes at her. “ _Whomever_  is sending these things is either going to come forward or stop eventually.”

“But Xander, what if by accepting them you are accidentally offering something else?” Willow looked worried now and Xander winced.

“I’ve been hoping that wasn’t the case,” he said lightly. “Besides, even so I’ll just plead ignorance and run the other way.”

Willow frowned at him. “So you wouldn’t give your admirer a chance to… I don’t know, win you over?”

 _Way to switch tracks, Wills_ , Xander thought.  _First worried for me, and now sympathetic for them?_

“I,” Xander shrugged, “it would depend, I guess, on his intentions.”

“His?” Willow raised an eyebrow.

Xander felt himself blush. “So maybe I’ve been fantasizing a little.”

Willow cracked a smile, but it dropped quickly. “Just don’t get your hopes up, okay Xander? I don’t want you to get hurt.” She shook her head. “But for your sake, I do hope that Mr. Mysterious is some hot piece of masculine meat with gorgeous eyes and a heart of gold. It’s no less than you deserve.”

Xander had to clear his throat before he could respond. “Thanks Willow.”

A man could always dream.

.~.~.~.

Xander and the rest of his squad were getting briefed by Giles when the fourth gift arrived.

“Mollac are not to be underestimated,” the man was saying. “This one in particular is quick strong to have escaped the locating spells of both our own witches and the select members of Master Spike’s main court.”

“Master Spike is looking for it too?” Xander blinked.

Giles gave him a strange look. “Yes, the demon apparently wrecked havoc on his court when it was brought in for its crimes. It managed to escape, but not before killing several defenders and wounding even more.”

“Spike-” Xander felt something lodge in his throat, though he couldn’t say what.

“The master vampire sustained mild injuries,” Giles frowned. “He has likely already made a complete recovery.”

Xander nodded and hoped that his relief didn’t show too clearly on his face.

“Why do we care about the vampire?” Buffy asked with a mix of a confused pout and a scowl on her face. “How do we kill this Mollac thing?”

Giles shook his head. “Do not engage this demon alone, Buffy,” he warned. “If you spot it, you are to call for reinforcements immediately.”

Buffy frowned. “Why?”

“Because it is dangerous!” Giles glasses glinted. He picked up several sheets of paper and passed them around. Xander grabbed his from Tara and passed the stack to Riley before he began to read it curiously.

The top of the page held a colored picture of a large creature with a putrid skin tone and a nasty set of four arms. It had horns cover its shoulders and head, smaller ridges running down its bare chest and sharp teeth hanging over its chin. Below the picture was a list of known facts on both strengths and weaknesses.

 _Not something I want to go up against_ , Xander shivered as he noted the resistance to most forms of defensive and offensive magics.

The knock on the door was a welcome distraction from the monster talk. Oz stood and opened it, revealing Anya with a bag in her hands.

“You’re late,” Giles said as the last member of the squad came in and shut the door behind her.

“Sorry, traffic,” Anya shrugged. “Lorne caught me as I was coming up,” she walked over to Xander and held out the bag. “Another present, I guess.”

Xander could tell that his ex-girlfriend was jealous, though of him or of the admirer was another question. “Thanks, An,” he said as he took the gift, intent on setting it aside to open after the meeting.

“No, Xander,” Willow called as he was setting it down. “Open it now!”

Xander frowned at her and then glanced at Giles. Their supervisor took his glasses off to clean. “I confess to being interested as to it’s contents,” he said slowly.

The entire squad looked at him and Xander sighed. “Alright,” he held up his hands in surrender and then reached a hand into the bag, pushing aside the paper to pull out…

“A book?” Riley snorted. “Maybe this admirer doesn’t know you so well after all.”

Xander glared at his fellow cop. “I’ll have you know that I do occasionally read.”

“Yeah, comic books,” Buffy giggled.

“Ganging up on me, no fair,” Xander muttered as he flipped the book over to look at the cover. There was no title, just a beautiful set of gold plating and etching.

“It’s beautiful,” Willow breathed. She reached forward to touch it, only to reel back in shock.

Xander’s head came up. “Wills?”

“It’s like a shield,” Willow said, reaching again, only to be pushed back inches before she could touch the book.

“Let me try,” Riley suggested. He, too, was pushed back.

“Anya?” Giles turned to the ex-vengeance demon.

Anya shrugged, looking at her nails. “Lorne said something about it being spelled to Xander’s aura. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Giles came around the table to stand behind Xander’s chair. “Why not you open it and I’ll see if I can read it.”

“Okay,” Xander agreed, carefully pulling back the cover. The first page was blank, but he’d heard somewhere that that was a common practice for old books and this thing look really old, judging by the slight yellowing of the pages. He flipped the paper and stared as the script scrawled out before his eyes.

It took him a second or so to make out what the words said, but when he did Xander blinked hard. “ _The Aurelius Grimoire_?”

Giles drew in a deep breath. “You can reach it?”

Xander turned back to look at him. “Um, yeah? It’s written in English-”

Giles was shaking his head. “No, Xander, it is not. That is a very old demonic script.”

“What?” Xander looked back at the book. “No it’s not.”

“Is i- it spelled fo-for Xander to r-read?” Tara said into the silence.

Giles stepped back and then returned to his original spot at the head of the table. “That is possible,” he nodded. “That language is known only by a very select number of demons and despite our best efforts, none of consented to share the knowledge with the DSPA.”

“What did you say it was called, Xander?” Willow asked.

“ _The Aurelius Grimoire_ ,” Xander told her. He flipped another page and skimmed it. “Looks like an account of history and rituals.”

“Aurelius?” Giles gasped. “Oh dear.”

“What?” Buffy frowned. “Is it dangerous?”

“Not anymore,” Giles told her. “The Order of Aurelius was once a very old, very powerful demonic clan ruled by a vampire known simply as the Master. It is a little known fact that the Scourge of Europe were members of the order and the destruction they caused was in obedience to the Master’s wishes.”

“Wait, so the order is bad then, evil?” Riley gave the book a suspicious glance.

“Not so…” Giles cleaned his glasses. “They say that in his later years, and by that I mean in his last century, the Master had grown weary of his immortal life and began to go quite insane. One of the Master’s childer, the vampire named Darla, eventually dusted her sire and took over for him. Since then, the order has gone underground, but there are rumors that it still continues to run in the way it once had, before the Master’s insanity struck.”

“Which is?” Xander prodded.

“As a protector,” Giles admitted. “It is one of the reasons the DSPA consented with a truce with Master Spike. If he is a member of the order as we suspect, then he has sworn an oath to destroy only those who deserve it.” He sighed. “Xander, that book is priceless. If you can read it… I can only assume that your  _admirer_  is a member of the order and that they have been tasked with testing your worthiness for joining it.”

“Why would they want Xander?” Buffy asked.

Xander jerked back before he could stop himself and stared at his friend as a flash of hurt came over him.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Buffy said immediately. “I just meant… well…”

Xander winced. “It’s okay, Buffy, I get it. I mean, I’m hardly the most qualified cop in the city.”

“Do not underestimate yourself or your worth,” Giles said, glaring at his Slayer. “I have a suspicion…”

“What?” Xander asked as Giles trailed off.

The man shook his head. “Go home, read what you can and report back tomorrow. I have a feeling your answers are to be found within that grimoire.”

Xander glanced around to meet the varying looks of his squad and then stood. “Good luck with the Mollac,” he said. “See you guys tomorrow.”

Willow opened her mouth as if to call after him, but Xander was already carefully packing the book back in its bag and taking his leave.

.~.~.~.

####  **_To take a Consort of such a nature is of a highest value for those of our ranks. The Consort must be worthy of such admiration and appreciation, a bonded to fight by ones side and accept ones affection. One must not choose ones Consort by whim or by necessity, but because one has found a mate to love._ **

####  **_There must be no doubt that ones chosen Consort is the mate that one wishes to love before one begins the ritual. One must know their chosen mate, have knowledge of their happiness and troubles._ **

####  **_Once acknowledgment is made and intentions are given, one must procure the five symbols of courtship to spread over the thirteen days of ceremony. The Consort must accept and appreciate each and every gift to allow the bond to solidify and…_ **

Xander rubbed his eyes as the text began to blur. He glanced over at his clock and groaned as he read the numbers.

 _Four in the morning, really?_  He asked himself. With a tired sigh, Xander stroked the book’s old pages and closed it, gently setting it on his bedside table. He’d already read it all the way through, the writing sucking him in as a book had rarely done before. He wondered if that was part of the spell that allowed it to be understandable to him, but he couldn’t be sure.

The part he had been attempting to re-read was of the most interest to him. It describe the courtship ritual he now knew he was in the midst of. Five present, the first to acknowledge, the second to show understanding, and the third to prove the ability to care for the consort.

Xander was certain that whomever was sending the gifts was a vampire and a member of the Order of Aurelius at that. Despite the evidence to the contrary, Xander was neither stupid nor oblivious.

Now he only had to figure out what to do with the information he now held.The book, the fourth present, was to prove that he would be protected as the vampire’s consort. And what better way to protect someone who already knew how to defend themselves against any number of demons, than with information?

It was the fifth present that would decide it all, Xander decided. The present that proved that the vampire could, would, and did love their consort-to-be.

He was at least relived to note that the courtship was not binding. It did not become binding until he accepted the vampire’s intentions. The fifth present had to be given in person and then he would know.

Then he would have a choice to make.

Xander threw a arm over his eyes and let himself slip into sleep.

.~.~.~.

Xander let the silence of the streets comfort him as he swung the bag of groceries in his hand. It was a short walk from his apartment to the nearest corner store and Willow had begged for him to go out and grabbed some more butter so she could make them a cake.

Xander knew that she was trying to make up for the fact that he hadn’t received a present today, even though by the pattern he should. A present every three days, the rest had thought. He tried to tell them not to worry, that the final present was to be given on the thirteenth day, not the twelfth, but like had happened when Giles had questioned him, he found that he couldn’t reveal any of the knowledge that he’d learned from reading the book.

That had been worrisome at first and Xander had let the witches of the DSPA run test after test on him, but the compulsion spell that prevented him from speaking about the grimoire’s contents, beyond the name and a very simple overview of its message, was a strong. Xander had told them not to worry about it, he didn’t want anyone to get hurt over the thing and already Willow had strained her magical core trying to alter the spell.

Xander smiled to himself. He might not be able to tell Willow why he hadn’t gotten a present, but he didn’t really mind if that meant he got cake out of it. That might make him a tad manipulative… but he didn’t think he’d lose any sleep over it.

There was a sort of shuffle sound to his left and Xander glanced over just in time to see a large arm reached towards him. “Hey!” he yelled in surprise and he found his feet come of the ground.

The air rushed past his face and then Xander’s back hit something hard and he dropped down to the ground. Training kicked it and Xander rolled out of the way of a bare foot that came stomping where he’d been just moments before.

Too late, Xander realized he’d rolled the wrong direction as he jumped to his feet and unsheathed the broadsword at his side. The Mollac demon stood between him and the entrance to the alley he’d been thrown into. Xander backed up until he felt the brick wall behind him and he cursed softly.

“What? You’re just jumping random bystanders now?” Xander yelled at the creature. “What have I done to get on your bad side, huh?”

The Mollac grumbled a series of indistinguishable sounds in a low groan that sounded a bit like a car with old breaks. Xander winced and stepped forward off the wall, adjusting his stance to account for the fact that his opponent had bout four feet on him in height and another five in width.

“The one time you leave your radio at home,” Xander muttered, glancing with regret at the grocery bag behind the demon. He wondered if the butter would melt on the ground while he body lay in two pieces a yard away.

 _Yeah, two pieces_ , Xander groaned as he reassessed the size of the Mollac’s four arms. This thing could easily rip him apart.

He tried to remember what had been on that sheet Giles had passed around as the demon made some more sounds. “I have no idea what you’re saying, steroidsman,” Xander called out. “So why don’t you just step aside and let me pass, what do you say?”

The demon roared and rushed forward. Xander stood his ground until the demon’s arm came out and then he slashed at it with his sword. A thick smell permeated the air as green liquid globs sprayed out from the cut to cover both the alley wall and Xander. He blinked hard to prevent it from getting in his eyes.

Then he was airborne again. Xander opened his mouth to yell, only to choke as the green liquid touched his tongue and began to burn. He thought he heard a crack as he hit the wall, then was taken back close to the demon, and then smashed against the wall again.

His right arm went numb and Xander dropped his sword without conscious effort. He tried to keep his head forward as the Mollac continued to bang his body against the wall like a five year old with an unwanted toy. His whole body felt like it was on fire, either from the acid green blood or the cracking of his bones, Xander didn’t know.

He wondered how much of this he could survive. All of his mental power was being used to stay conscious because he knew that if he slipped into the darkness that threatened the edges of his vision then he would have no chance in hell of living to eat that cake Willow was going to make.

 _Willow!_  Xander reminded himself. She would be so sad if he died. Xander struggled anew but the arm holding him did not let up.

“Let ‘im go, Tec’elv!”

 _The demon must be rattling my brain_ , Xander thought faintly.  _I could have sworn that was Spike’s voice._

Xander felt the world spin and then he was being dropped. He crumpled against the ground, his legs splayed out and his eyes spotted. The sound of some sort of fight was going on beyond him, but Xander could do nothing except struggle to get up.

With a groan, he pushed his body back, every muscle and bone in his body complaining as he propped himself up with his back to the wall. He shook his head slowly, attempting to clear the spots from his vision as he tried to make out the figure now clashing with the Mollac.

Breathing unsteadily, Xander spotted his sword lying on the ground near him. He tried to move his right arm, only to find that it wouldn’t obey him.  _Huh_ , he thought almost hysterically as he reached instead with his left arm.

The weight of the sword, usually no problem for him, now made his entire body shake. Xander walked himself up the wall until he was standing with bent knees. He needed to help, he thought, needed to stop the demon from hurting whomever had come to rescue him.

With a chocked cry, Xander pushed himself off the wall and stumbled towards the demon. He barely made it two feet before his left knee gave out on him, but it was enough because the Mollac, hearing his approach, had turned to intercept him, giving the other fighter the second he needed to jumped up and, with the kind of strength that couldn’t be human, rip the demon’s head off his body in a sickening tear of bone, skin, and blood.

Xander crawled back to avoid the massive body as gravity overtook it and it fell. The green blood sprayed in an arc across the alley walls, splattering his shoulder but otherwise missing him.

Now Xander could see the other fighter, though he though that possibly he was still hallucinating as the game face of Spike turned towards him. His vision darkened again and when it came back the face was human.

The Spike-hallucination began to back up and Xander coughed. “Spike!” he called out, almost desperate as he felt his body shudder. “Spi-”

The darkness came in a rush and Xander collapsed down over his own legs, pain flaring and then ebbing away as he lost consciousness.

Distantly, he registered footsteps stopping and then moving again before strong hands gently lifted him. He spared a moment to thank the fates for small favors as he tried to curl towards the blessed cool skin, and then he thought no more.

.~.~.~.

“You’re feeling better?” Willow asked, worry in her tone as she clasped his hand.

“All patched up,” Xander assured her. “The green witches know their healing spells, I’m fine, Wills.”

“You almost died, Xan,” Willow told him. “I was so worried…”

Xander squeezed her hand. “I know,” he murmured. “Thank you.”

Willow nodded slowly. “Giles wants me to come in-”

“Then go,” Xander said. “I’ll be fine. They said they’ll release me before sundown. I’ll be waiting in the apartment by the time you get back, okay?”

“They work fast,” Willow noted as she stood.

“Eh, well, you know, nothing but the best for a DSPA cop,” Xander joked, but it fell flat. He knew what Willow was thinking and he couldn’t even deny it.

Yeah, the hospital healers were pretty good about caring for the cops hurt on duty, but they had pulled no stops in healing Xander of his injuries. He’d only been in their care for ten hours and already his body was on its way to a complete recovery.

Nothing but the best for an Aurelius’ Consort, but that he couldn’t say.

“Call me when you get home, will you?” Willow asked.

“Yes, Mom,” Xander said.

Willow frowned at him. “Xander…”

“I will,” Xander promised. “Give the squad my regards.”

Willow nodded and left reluctantly. Xander watched her go until the door closed behind her and then he turned to look at the ceiling, waiting for the healers come with his release papers.

.~.~.~.

The sun was just beginning to set when Xander stopped in front of the streetlamp where it all had started. He leaned against the cool metal of the light and settled himself in for a long wait.

He didn’t have wait long, however. As soon as it was dark enough for the streetlamps to turn on, he heard the sound of footsteps and then Spike appeared out of the alley.

“Master Spike,” Xander greeted.

“Xander,” Spike said softly, approaching him before stopping a few feet away. “Why are you not still in the hospital, pet?”

“They released me,” Xander smiled. “Said there was nothing more they could do, the rest I have to heal on my own.”

“Then you should be resting,” Spike told him.

Xander raised his chin and gave the vampire a look that he hoped explained what he didn’t know he could say in words. “I wanted to talk to you first.”

Spike sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t stay, pet,” he murmured. “We’re not supposta have any contact during the thirteen days. I broke the rules enough by taking ye to the hospital.”

“I know,” Xander said. “I don’t blame you.”

“You read the book then?” Spike raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“I did,” Xander straightened off the lamppost. “The kiss was a declaration of your intent, wasn’t it?”

Spike nodded.

“Why?” Xander said, and suddenly he felt some anger stir within him. “You don’t know me, I don’t know you. If you think you can buy me like a cheap whore-”

“Hey now!” Spike protested. “Those prezzies weren’t cheap.” He frowned. “You just said you read-”

“I did,” Xander told him. “That’s the problem. How can you choose me to be your,” he swallowed, “your consort when you don’t even know me?”

“Oh, but I do know you, luv,” Spike said. “I saw ye for the first time in the Hellmouth.”

“In Sunnydale?” Xander blinked.

“Aye,” Spike said. “You were talking to that red-haired bint about the chaos mage…”

“Oh, Ethan?” Xander nodded. “He cursed all of our costumes on Halloween that year.” He remembered that conversation suddenly. “Wait, when I was telling Willow that I still had the soldier’s memories?”

“Yes, luv,” Spike said. “You intrigued me, so I followed you around for a bit. When I found out you were moving to LA with plans to enter the academy,” the vampire reached forward and stroke the fading bruise on Xander’s shoulder. “I wanted to see where ye would go, and then I wanted to see you succeed.”

“Are you saying you became the Master of LA for-” Xander cut himself off, because that was just too outrageous.

“For you, luv,” Spike said, confirming his thoughts. “You’re so strong, pet, so much stronger than you give yerself credit for. I’ve watched you grow into yer own skin, luv. You’re gorgeous.”

The vampire stepped just a bit closer, his hand moving up to brush against Xander’s cheek. The cop wondered why he wasn’t freaking out about it, but then again he’d admitted to himself that he was gay after the disastrous relationship that was Anya and anyone with eyes could see that Spike was a sex god. “You’re the gorgeous one,” he said.

Spike smiled, his thumb running along the line of Xander’s cheekbone. “Thank you, luv, but you need to learn to see yerself. I’m the envy of my court for claiming you as my consort.”

Xander found Spike’s voice fascinating, how it fluctuated from heavy Cockney to a softer British with every phrase he said. Still, he stepped back, away from that cool hand on his cheek. “I’ve been imagining it was you, ever since that first present. I don’t know why-”

“Preliminary bonding,” Spike said as he drew his hand back.

“Have you been influencing my thoughts?” Xander asked.

“Not quite,” Spike sighed. “It’s more like this, pet, you were able to sense my presence, yeah? As soon as I began to sort everything together for the ritual, your body became attuned to mine, just as mine is to yours.”

Xander pondered that for a minute. “What happens next?”

“I give you your final prezzie, and you either accept or deny it, me,” just a trace of worry laced Spike’s tone, but his body still screamed calm confidence. Xander wondered how many walls the vampire was dropping around him.

“Then what?” Xander questioned. “I still don’t know you.”

Spike froze as if he hadn’t thought of that. “If ye deny me, pet, I’ll leave you alone. If you accept me… we take it as slow as ye want. It’s not forever binding until the final ceremony, yeah?”

“Oh,” Xander paused. He thought to say something corny, like,  _“Prove your love then, Master Vamp!”_ , but it seemed he needn’t say anything at all as Spike reached inside his duster and pulled out a small box.

Xander stepped forward to take it from him, but the vampire shook his head and opened the box, gently pulling out a ring. He caught Xander’s right hand and slowly slid it onto the cop’s middle finger.

He held his breath as Spike bent his head down and kissed the ring before letting go. Xander drew his hand back and studied the ring under the lamplight. It was a large silver band, made for a man he noted happily, with a flat, square red gem that shone in the center.

Xander squinted his eyes and brought the ring closer. He thought for a moment it was ruby, but there were dark swirls in the gem that seemed almost to move under his gaze.

“It’s called a vampire’s kiss,” Spike said. “That ring has been in the order for many centuries. It was a gift from my grandsire’s sire to my sire. When she left for Brazil, she gave it to me.”

“I’ve heard of it,” Xander admitted. “There’s only, what, ten pieces of jewelry with this stone in the world?”

“Nine,” Spike corrected. “It’ll protect you from most magical attacks and it’ll warm yer finger if there’s danger near or if someone is lying to you heavily.”

“I can’t-” Xander began, but Spike stopped him with a flash of gold eyes.

“You can reject my courtship,” the vampire said. “But do not reject this gift. It is for you, Xander, to keep as long as you may.”

Xander swallowed hard. “Thank you,” he murmured and drew his fingers close. “I didn’t expect…”

“I know,” Spike stepped back, something like sadness over his eyes now. “You’ll find someone right fer you, someday. If anyone don’t treat you well, you can always come to me. I’ll watch over ye for the rest of your mortal years.”

 _Here it is_ , Xander thought.  _The choice._

He resented that Spike thought he’d already made it, and in the negative… but then again he should have.

Shaking his head at his own foolishness, Xander stepped forward and lay his hands on the vampires still shoulders. “I accept your claim, your courtship, and your love, Master Spike, once known as William the Bloody.”

Spike drew in an unnecessary breath, his face rippling as it warred between human and demon. “I promise to honor your acceptance, Alexander Harris. I will spend the rest of our years proving my love to you so long as you spend it by my side.”

Xander smiled brightly and his heart beat hard in his chest. Giles, Buffy, Riley, hell all of his squad would berate him for what he was doing but something felt right and he didn’t want to survive a childhood in the Hellmouth only to lose himself to a lonely life.

 _Besides, Wills,_  he told his best friend silently,  _Spike does have gorgeous eyes and I think that just maybe, a heart of gold too._

And yeah, he didn’t love Spike, he barely knew him, but he thought that maybe he could grow to love him and even if he didn’t, he wanted to try. After all, what was love but a risk to take?

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Xander leaned forward and gave the vampire a soft kiss. Spike’s arms moved to wrap around his waist and Xander’s heart skipped a beat as those cool lips moved against his own.


End file.
